Eco-evolutionary drivers of niche dynamics in invasive weeds

该项目旨在了解入侵物种如何以及为何变得具有侵略性。众所周知，许多外来物种在它们的新范围内扩大了它们的生态位，利用了祖先种群从未使用过的栖息地。本研究采用田间移植和定量遗传学实验相结合的独特方法，确定澳大利亚角茅入侵种群生态位扩展的驱动因素，并预测入侵种群是否有可能进一步扩大其生态位。通过对入侵物种适应进化机制的深入了解，本研究将有助于有效限制威胁本地环境的入侵植物的传播。

The project aims to understand how and why invasive species become invasive. Many exotic species are known to expand their ecological niches in their novel range, exploiting habitats that ancestral populations never used. Using a unique approach that combines field transplant and quantitative genetics experiments, this study will identify the drivers of niche expansion in invasive Australian capeweed, and predict if the invasive populations are likely to further expand their niches. By delivering key insights into mechanisms of adaptive evolution in invasive species, this research should benefit efforts to effectively limit the spread of invasive plants that threaten the native environment.